A little Push
by xxZutaraFanxx
Summary: Zuko and Katara's daughter has travelled to the past. What mischief will ensue and how will this affect our favourite couple? Zutara and loads of fun times. Please read!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! I'm back! And I promise I will get back to TWTA as soon as possible. This is just a little fic that has been begging me to write it. I have read so many unfinished fics like it and so decided to have a go myself! It's purely for fun so I hope you enjoy...**

**xxZutaraFanxx**

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"Ugh! I'm sooo bored." Kyla moaned loudly. Being princess of the Fire Nation had its perks but on days like today when it was too hot do pretty much anything and still early enough in the day that people, her father and mother included, were still working, Kyla found herself incredibly bored. "I'm starting to miss school. I never thought I'd say that." She mumbled to herself. She couldn't go and bother her older brother because he was in a meeting with their father and their mother was out of the palace meeting someone important if she remembered correctly. Lying on her bed, frustrated that most of her friends had gone to Ember Island that summer, Kyla decided to get up and go for a walk hoping that somehow the distraction would take her mind off the boredom.

If there was one thing she loved about her home was that its beauty never ceased to amaze her. The paintings, though eerie at times were beautiful and the various flowers and plants that decorated the halls seemed to fill them with an explosion of colour not to mention the sweet smell that came with it. It was due to this that Kyla managed to find herself in one of the many gardens in the palace. This one was her favourite. It had a medium sized pond in the centre where the turtleducks would play and where she first found out that she was a waterbender. She briefly thought about doing some practice but then decided against it due to it being too hot. Instead she continued to walk around the garden until she was suddenly stopped in her tracks. A hooded figure sat under the Cherry Blossom tree and appeared to be watching her intensely. Even though Kyla could feel their gaze on her; she did not feel afraid and was more curious than anything. She had never seen anyone like them and was interested as to why anyone would were such a heavy cloak in such heat. As she walked closer and closer, a feeling in her gut told her that something was about to happen. What, she was not sure, but she was certain it had to do with this mysterious person.

"Hello, my name is Kyla, may I ask who you are?" She asked politely. The hood figure stood almost too gracefully and grinned.

"Why do you come up to me so fearlessly? Are you not afraid I could do you harm little one?" The hood figure replied.

"Little One! I'm 15 years old! And as for you doing me harm, if you were going to, you would have done so by now, and besides, I have a feeling that you are more of a friend than foe." Kyla said trying her hardest to look under the hood and get a glimpse of this person's face. The hooded figure smiled a little wider and began to slowly pull back their hood revealing her beautiful face and long black hair. Her skin was extremely pale, paler than her father's and her eyes were grey but empty looking. Kyla thought to herself that this beautiful woman is blind and must have lost her way somehow, thus finding herself here.

"My name is Min Yuin, and you are right about me being more friend than foe. I wish you no harm little one." Kyla rolled her eyes at that term but decided to let it pass.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here? Are you lost?" Kyla asked.

"Why do you think I'm lost?"

"Errr well, I've never seen you here before and well I see that you are blind and so I thought... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed." Kyla said sheepishly.

"That's alright little one, and you are correct. I am blind at least in the way you think I am, but I see in...Other ways." Min Yuin replied, grinning as if she was in on some personal joke.

"I suppose you're like my Aunt Toph. Are you an earthbender?"

"No. I'm not." Kyla was taken aback by the short reply. She looked at this odd woman who seemed to be looking out towards something that she herself could not see.

"So, why are you here Min Yuin? My father is in a meeting and my mother is outside the palace. You could wait here if you like but I think that they both might be a while."

"I'm not here to see either of your parents little one I'm..."

"It's Kyla. Besides, you look no older than my Mom so you couldn't be that much older than me to be calling me 'little one'." Kyla said slightly frustrated at her new nickname. Min Yuin on the other hand smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry Kyla, I am far older than I look and am here because I need your help."

"Me."

"Yes you. I need you to push certain things along, and though time is of no consequence, I would rather you did this sooner rather than later."

"I think you have me confused with someone else. I have no idea what you are talking about." Kyla replied. A breezed passed between them causing brief relief from the heat that did not seem to be dying down.

"I am not confused Kyla. Will you help me?"

"What is it you want? I don't understand what you mean by 'move things along'."

"Things will become clear in time. Will you help me?"

"What is it I have to do? I can't say if I can help you if you don't tell me what you are asking of me." Kyla said becoming slightly frustrated at this woman's vagueness whilst placing her hands on her hips, a gesture she had picked up from her mother. Min Yuin on the other hand looked directly into Kyla eyes causing her bravado to falter slightly. Bending down to reach her level, Min Yuin cupped Kyla face and smiled gently.

"Will you help me?" she asked once again in a voice no more than a whisper. Kyla stared at this odd woman. For reasons unknown to her and against every fibre of her body, she trusted her. It was as though something, was telling her that this had all been decided long ago and was somehow out of her control. Though she did not like the idea of things not being under her control, she sighed and nodded. Min Yuin smiled and rose up slowly.

"Thank you." She said. "Here take this." She said handing Kyla a small bag of sweets. "These will help you settle in, the rest is up to you?"

"Wait, I don't understand. What is it you want me to do?"

"I just need you to push things along. They are hard headed though so it might take some time, but remember, time is relative and you are proof that it is meant to be so do not worry about it."

"Push what along? Who is hard headed?" Kyla asked becoming more and more frustrated.

"You'll see. Remember, just push things along, they will do the rest. Are you ready?" Min Yiun asked raising an eyebrow mischievously.

"Are you crazy? You're beginning to sound like my Uncle Iroh." Min Yiun laughed at her little outburst.

"No, I'm not crazy. Are you ready?"

"Fine."

"Well then, good luck Kyla."Min Yiun bent down and kissed Kyla on the forehead. Kyla on the other hand closed her eyes and sighed at the craziness of this all. Wasn't it a moment ago that she complaining about being bored? Eventually, she began to feel cold and like her body was no longer under her control. Her eyes could not open, and this feeling of coldness was become stronger and stronger. She began to shiver and become frightened at this feeling of helplessness. It felt as if she were moving but still remained stationary. Confused, blinded and afraid, Kyla tried her hardest to warm herself by wrapping her arms around herself, but she still had no control over her body. Suddenly her world went black and Kyla blacked out.

o0o0o

Eventually, Kyla awoke to find herself on an uncomfortable bed in room that was definitely not her own. Slowly, she sat up glad that she regained control of her body and rubbed her face groggily. She felt like she had been sleeping for ages. It was then that everything came back to her. That strange woman in the garden, agreeing to help her with some task, the sweets, and feeling really cold. She slowly stood up and looked at her surroundings. She was in a strange bedroom, not like any she had seen in the palace and it was a lot cooler than she remembered. The room itself lacked any personal belongings and looked as though it had been vacant for a very long time.

"Ugh! I'm so stupid agreeing to help that crazy woman that I don't even know. I never think these things through, now I have no idea where I am." She said clenching her fists. Her parents would be furious with her when she got back. If she got back. As she looked out the window of the odd bedroom, she saw that it was about early evening.

"Great." She thought to herself, now I am stuck here for the night. Kyla walked out of the room to try and get her bearings and find out where exactly she was. As she walked along the corridors of this place that seemed oddly familiar, she began to hear voices and see light coming from the distance. Slowly, she began walking to their source.

o0o0o

"Wow, I can't believe you guys saw dragons. I wish I had come with you now." Sokka said while stuffing his face with rice.

"They were pretty amazing." Aang replied absentmindedly playing with Momo.

"I'm just grateful that there _**are**_ still dragons." Zuko said whilst playing with his food. For some reason he had felt restless today. Like something was about to happen but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Wait." Toph said, causing everyone to stop what they were doing. "Someone's coming." She said pointing towards the doorway that lead towards the opening where they were having dinner. No sooner than Toph had said it, a young girl no older than Katara emerged from the shadows. From what the gang could see, she was just as shocked to see them as they were to see her.

"Who are you?" Sokka asked directly. "And how did you find us, this Air Temple is only accessible by sky bison."

Kyla looked at the group of teenagers in both shock and horror. She understood now, or at least she thought she did. It wasn't where she was that she should have asked, but when? In front of her stood her parents, and their friends as teenagers. "This is weird." She thought to herself, unable to speak. "This is very weird."

"Answer." Sokka repeated. "How did you find us? Who sent you?"

"Sokka! You're probably scaring her which is why she hasn't spoken. Put the sword down before you hurt yourself." Katara said rolling her eyes, she then walked over to the mysterious girl and brought her toward the fire and the rest of the group. She noted that this girl had an odd look about her. Her hair was extremely straight but brown, and her eyes were just as blue as her own, but her clothes were definitely Fire Nation, though unlike any Fire Nation clothes she had seen before. As well as all this, she had the strange feeling that this girl was familiar in some way. As they reached the centre of the group, with all eyes on this new stranger Katara turned and introduced herself. "My name is Katara..."

"Don't tell her our real names! She could be a spy!" Sokka exaggerated.

"I'm not a spy!" Kyla said seeming to come out of her trance. Everyone looked at her after her sudden outburst then turned to look at Toph.

"She's telling the truth. "

"Fine!" Sokka grumbled.

"What is your name?" Katara asked ignoring him. Kyla thought quickly. She couldn't give a fake name because Toph would find her out, but then, she couldn't give her real name because that would be silly.

"Errr my name. Yeah... My name is...Errr..."

"Don't you know your own name?" Zuko asked suspiciously.

"Right, my name is Kei... Yes. Kei." Kyla praised herself mentally on her quick thinking. Her brother called her Kei, usually when he wanted a favour so she technically wasn't lying.

"Yep, she's still telling the truth." Toph added.

"How did you get here?" Sokka asked "And why have you come?"

"I... I... Don't remember how I got here, but I'm not an enemy. As to why I've come, well all I can say is that now that I'm here, I want to help. I know who all of you are and if my history is correct..."

"History?" Aang said confused.

"Err...Yeah. Anyway, I want to help, but don't have much to offer..." Kyla said looking down and placing her hands in her pockets. Suddenly, she felt a small lump, and berated herself for forgetting about it so quickly. "Except these." She added, taking out the small pouch of sweets Min Yiun had given her and handing them to Katara.

"What are they?" Katara said looking at the pouch curiously. Kyla opened it and popped a red sweet into her mouth.

"They're called Fire Candies. They're really nice. Try one."

"No!" Sokka said grabbing the pouch from Katara. "They could be poisoned."

"Sokka how can they be poisoned, she just ate one."

"Fine, I'll try one first, just in case..." Sokka said taking out a sweet while Katara simply rolled her eyes.

"So Kei, you're Fire Nation then?" Aang asked innocently. Zuko on the other hand looked on this new stranger intently. He did not trust her.

"Errrr, well my father is."

"And your mother?" Zuko asked directly.

"Errrm, well... You see."

"It's alright Kei. You don't have to answer. I believe you." Katara said resting a hand on her shoulder.

"You're only saying that because I asked her the question."

"Here we go..." Haru said whilst beginning to walk away. The novelty of the new stranger was wearing off, and it was beginning to get quite late. The other members of the group sensing an argument was approaching decided to make their way to their rooms.

"What? No Zuko! I only said that because we have been bombarding her with questions like she's some sort of criminal when it's obvious that she means us no harm."

"Ermm. Guys, there is really no need to..."

"Oh so, when she comes and says she's willing to help you welcome her with open arms, but when I come and say that I want to help, you treat me like I'm the plague."

"She, Zuko, has not tried to capture Aang countless times and chased us half way around the world!"

"Whatever." Zuko said walking away back towards the fire and sitting down angrily. Katara ignored him and turn to Kei.

"I'm sorry, the last thing I wanted is for there to be an argument over me, especially between you and Firelo...I mean Prince Zuko." Kyla thought inwardly how odd it was to call her dad by his title rather than just Dad.

"That's alright. Zuko is being foolish anyway." Katara saying waving her hand nonchalantly. Almost immediately after she had said that, Kyla's belly rumbled causing her to blush in embarrassment. "You must be hungry, here; we have a little rice left thanks to you coming along before Sokka could claim it. You're welcome to have it."

"Thank you...Errrr...Katara." Kyla said taking the bowl from her mother. It was weird calling her by her name. She would never get use to it, she thought to herself.

"That's alright. You can sleep in my room tonight. We normally sleep outside, but it's a cold tonight and I can feel rain coming. "Katara said looking up towards the sky.

"Thank you." Kyla said trying not to fill her mouth, but then, she really was very hungry.

"No problem, my room is the second room to the left in the corridor you came out of." Katara said, pointing in the direction f her room. "It's weird, I usually don't warm up to strangers so easily, but I trust you for some reason. I don't know why, just s a feeling I guess." Katara said shrugging. "Well goodnight Kei."

"Goodnight Katara." Kyla said smiling. She was glad she had at least one person on her side her, and the fact that it was her own mother made her feel all warm inside causing her to smile absent mindedly. After Katara had left, Kyla walked over to the fire where Zuko sat, and sat down opposite him, finishing her rice. It was odd, she thought to herself, how much he looked like her older brother. If it wasn't for his straight hair and the scar, she might have mistaken him for him. So caught up in her thoughts of her family back home she didn't realise that Zuko had got up and walked over to her. All of a sudden a pair of two black boots appeared in front of her and she abruptly stood up, trying her hardest not to spill he rice in the process.

"I don't know who you are but I know that it doesn't take a person 5 minutes to remember their name unless they have something to hide. I, unlike Katara, am not easily fooled. I do not trust you and if anything happens to anyone here because of you, you will have to answer to me." Zuko said bluntly, before walking back towards his room. Kyla stared blankly at the space that Zuko had just occupied then continued to eat her rice before chuckling to herself quietly.

"It's nice to see you too Dad."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! That you for all the favs and the 4 lovely reviews I got on the last chapter! I really appreciate it and they really do encourage me write more! Well... I won't keep you any longer, here's the next chapter...**

**Enjoy!**

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"Kei... Kei... Wake up." Katara said patting her lightly. She had never met someone who was as deep a sleeper as Sokka and found it funny when Kei swatted her hand away.

"Leave me alone Kenai, I'm still sleeping." Kyla grumbled groggily. She was in no mood for her brother's games, she had had the weirdest dream and had only just fallen asleep, at least, that's what she thought.

"Kei, wake up. You'll miss breakfast." Katara repeated a little more forcefully.

"Go away, I'll tell Mom..."

"Kei!" Katara shouted.

"Wha...What?" Kyla said waking abruptly to find Katara's chuckling lightly. "I'm still here... I thought... Well, nevermind." She said yawning. "Good morning Katara."

"Morning. You're a very deep sleeper; I've been calling you for a while now."

"Sorry." Kyla said sitting at the edge of her bed. She looked around at her surroundings, disappointed that what she thought was a weird dream was actually reality. She was still here, in the past and had no idea what she was meant to do and how she was going to get back to her time.

"Are you alright Kei? You look a bit sad." Katara asked, joining Kei on her bed.

"No, I'm fine. Just still half asleep that's all. Is there a bathroom I could use to freshen up or something?" Kyla said rubbing her eyes. She needed time to think and create a plan. It's what her Dad would be telling her to do, if he didn't hate her guts at the moment that is.

"Yes, just through that door." Katara said pointing to a door just beside her bed. "You pull the lever and water comes through the pipes into the basin. It's cold, but it's fresh and will help wake you up. I usually get Aang to help me warm it but he's already started his training with Zuko. I left you some breakfast in a bowl near the fire outside. It should still be there seeing as Sokka isn't awake yet. I'll see you there when you're done."

"Thanks Katara. For everything." Kyla said placing her hands over Katara's. It was weird seeing her mom at this age. She saw aspects of herself in her but yet could tell that she was the Katara and mother she knew through and through. Kyla had always wondered what her parents had been like during the war and found it comforting to see that her mother had changed very little.

"That's ok. I better go and wake Sokka and Toph. They'll sleep till midday if I don't."

"Bye." Kyla said waving to Katara as she left. After the door had closed, Kyla got up and made her way into the bathroom. Like the majority of the rooms at the air temple, it looked old and in need of refurbishment. If it wasn't for the small containers and the bar of soap at the edge of the medium sized basin, Kyla would never have guessed that that the water pipes that stuck out of the wall still worked. The walls were discoloured and a smell of dust seemed to linger within the room in ways that only old rooms can. Kyla sighed and looked in the cracked mirror. She looked tired. She was not a morning person and her odd new settings didn't help matters. Her hair was messy and in need of comb and her clothes had begun to smell a bit worse for wear due to her sleeping in them the night before. "Clothes." She thought to herself. "I need a change of clothes. I would love to wash and re-wear these, but I don't think anyone would appreciate me walking around naked." Kyla re entered the bedroom and had a look for something she could wear. While rummaging through Katara's bags, something she truly hated herself for doing, she found a Fire Nation outfit consisting of a one sleeved short top and a medium length red skit. "So this is what they wore back in the day." She said holding up the items in question. "And Dad thinks _**I**_ show too much skin!"

With clothes to wear afterwards, Kyla made her way back into the bathroom, freshened up quickly and tried her hardest to finger comb her hair grateful that it was not as curly as her brother's. Now more awake than before, she sat on her bed and began to try and come up with both answers as to why she was here and a plan to get her back home. "The lady said I needed to push things forward. " She thought to herself. "Maybe that means I have to help them with plans for when the comet comes. But that makes no sense. It's too early. We're still at the Air Temple and they would only ask me how I knew so much." Kyla got up and started to pace back and forth, a habit she had picked up from her father. "Think... She said that they are hard headed." Well the only people she would described as hard headed was her parents Zuko and Katara from the way they clashed so easily the night before. "That's it!" She said out loud causing a strange echo to resonate within the room. "That's what she wants me to do. That's why she said I'm proof that it would work, she wants me to help my parents fall for each other. Then I can go back home"

With her plan in mind and a new positive outlook on her situation, Kyla made her way towards the opening where the rest of the group were having breakfast. Her newly found optimism was soon dashed at the sight of Zuko and Katara arguing again. Not wanting to make matters worse, Kyla quickly took her bowl from the fire and went and sat beside Toph. "What happened? Why are they arguing?" Kyla asked.

"Katara thinks that Zuko pushed Aang to hard today during practice. Zuko thinks she is being too protective." Toph replied.

"Well that's Katara for you." Kyla said taking in another mouthful.

"How would you know? You've only been with us for a day..." Toph asked suspiciously.

"Errr... Well. From the little I saw yesterday, she seems like the motherly type." Kyla replied quickly. She needed to stop making slip ups like that if she didn't want to have to answer unwanted questions. As she continued to eat her breakfast, the loudness of Zuko and Katara's argument began to overtake the peaceful tranquillity of the Air Temple surroundings and it became almost impossible not to get caught up in what they were saying.

"I'm just saying _**Zuko**_, it would be in everyone's best interests if you didn't burn Aang to a crisp while teaching him Firebending." Katara said sarcastically.

"For the last time, I didn't burn him. Aang wasn't being careful and burned himself. It isn't even a major burn, and you've already healed it so what's the problem?" Zuko replied. He was becoming more and more frustrated with his lack of understanding when it came to something he called 'Katara's logic'.

"The point is Zuko, is that you are his teacher, if you were teaching him correctly he wouldn't have made the mistake of burning himself." Katara said loudly.

"If he hadn't of made the mistake he would never have learnt from it." Zuko retorted angrily. Tensions were running high. Kyla could swear that the flames of the fire were corresponding with Zuko's feelings at the moment.

"Err... I don't think they're talking about Aang anymore." Toph whispered to Kyla.

"Ladies and Gents!" Sokka said loudly emerging from the doorway that led onto the opening and thus bringing a complete stop to the argument. "After eating all of the fire candies, for your benefit of course, I have concluded that they are not poisonous. There is no need to thank me. I was only doing my duty." He continued whilst taking a bowl of food and seating himself next to Kyla. "You're all right with me Kei." Sokka said smiling widely.

"Thanks Sokka. I'm glad you don't think I'm a spy anymore." Kyla said grinning.

"So...Kei...You wouldn't happen to have any more of those Fire Candies would you?" Sokka whispered.

"Sorry, I'm all out." Kyla replied chuckling. Zuko and Katara had parted ways since Sokka had entered, both having had enough of each other's company. Katara came and sat beside Sokka with a scowl on her face and an all around annoyed demeanour whilst Zuko went to his room.

"You should give Zuko a break Katara. He's trying his best and if he wanted to hurt Aang, he would have done so already when they went and saw the dragons." Sokka said nudging Katara playfully. He hated it when Zuko and Katara fought. It put a real downer on the group's dynamic.

"I don't trust him." Katara said flatly as she stared into the fire intensely.

"But you have to admit that you are being a bit hard on him sweetness."

"He burnt Aang!" Katara said exaggerating each word in the hope that someone would understand the enormity of the situation

"Aang burnt himself. And besides, you weren't that hard on me when I first taught Aang earthbending and I gave Aang bruises that still cause him pain" Toph said laughing.

"She does have a point Katara." Sokka added grinning at Katara's inevitable defeat.

"Can't you guys see that..."

"It's laundry day!" Aang shouted excitedly while holding a bag of clothes. Kyla had wondered where he had wisely gone off too during the argument.

"Oh yeah it is!" Sokka said excitedly. Even Toph perked up and rushed to her room.

"Ugh...Not again." Katara mumbled to herself.

"Laundry day? What's so great about laundry day?" Kyla asked confused.

"Well, these guys use it as an excuse to play in the river which means that I usually end up having to wash their clothes. That's why they get so excited while I just see it as an extra chore day." Katara said rising to her feet. She didn't mind Laundry day as much as she made out, and her waterbending did help speed things along.

"That doesn't seem fair, oh and sorry for borrowing your outfit without asking first. I didn't have any other outfits. I'll return it as soon as possible." Kyla replied slightly embarrassed. She too stood to her feet, her legs being slightly tiff from sitting for so long.

"That's all right. It suits you. And your right, it's not fair, but I don't mind. It's one of the things we look forward to as a group. "

"I'm guessing that's why everyone's gone, to get their clothes ready." Kyla said grinning.

"Yeah. We usually meet wherever Appa is by about midmorning and then head over to the river. It's not far from here and is pretty secluded so there isn't a chance that's we'll get spotted." Katara replied walking into her room. The two of them began collecting clothes and items that needed to be washed. Even things like blankets and towels were brought along.

o0o0o

The trip to the river was awkward at best. With Haru, The Duke and Teo deciding to stay behind to watch over the temple, the group consisted of Sokka, Aang, Toph, Katara, Zuko and Kyla. Sokka and Toph chatted mindlessly about who would win their annual "Hold your breath underwater" contest, with Sokka enthusiastically saying that he had practiced a lot so would beat Toph easily. Aang sat ahead steering Appa while playing with Momo, which left Zuko, Kyla and Katara. Kyla had tried on several occasions to make conversation with Zuko who was sitting opposite her, but only seemed to be rewarded with one or two word answers if anything at all.

"Why is this so hard?" She thought to herself. "I have a hard time getting Dad to _**stop**_ talking to me when I'm back home." It wasn't until she saw how tightly Zuko was holding onto Appa's saddle that she realised. "He hasn't ridden Appa as often as everyone else. He's still a bit shaky." She concluded. His knuckles were white and his jaw was tightly locked in place. "Perhaps on the back of Appa isn't the best place to try and build bridges." Kyla decided silently.

Katara on the other hand seemed lost in her own world. She gazed out towards the surrounding and hardly stirred during the whole journey.

"What are you thinking about?" Kyla asked.

"Nothing much really. I was just enjoying the view. You know, for your first time riding Appa, you're doing pretty well." Katara said chuckling. She didn't know why but she found it really easy to talk to Kei. Zuko glared at Kei suspiciously.

"Great." Kyla thought to herself. "Another reason for Dad not to trust me."

"I remember my first time on Appa. I was so scared. Now, it's just like second nature I guess." Katara said shrugging.

"I guess I'm just a natural..." Kyla said trying her hardest to make it sound genuine. It wasn't like she could say that she had actually ridden on Appa hundreds of times and has been doing so since she could walk.

"Are we there yet? I hate being in the air!" Toph groaned loudly.

"Yes. We are!" Aang replied bringing Appa down to land. As soon as Appa was safely on the ground, the group dismounted and ran to the river, conveniently leaving the clothes for Zuko, Katara and Kei to carry. Zuko took a bag and walked upstream, placed himself near the edge of the river and began scrubbing. He was use to washing his clothes by hand due to his time travelling with his Uncle. Katara and Kyla on the other hand went to sit downstream of the group. As they made themselves comfortable, Kyla tried her hardest to copy what Katara was doing. She had never washed clothes before and seemed to be incredibly clumsy when it came to it. If she wasn't holding the clothes incorrectly she was losing the soap. If it wasn't for Katara's quick thinking, it would have floated downstream many times already.

"You're not use to washing clothes are you Kei?" Katara asked.

"Errr... No. Not really." Kyla replied sheepishly. Katara had washed and rinsed three items of clothing while she was still on her first shirt.

"That's ok. I'll wash, you rinse and then you pass them back to me so I can dry them with waterbending."

"That's ok, I can do that." Kyla said drawing the water out using her own waterbending skills.

"You're a waterbeder!" Katara exclaimed excitedly. If it wasn't for all the noise that Toph, Aang and Sokka were making, they would have heard her too.

"Great..." Kyla thought to herself. "Another dumb way in which I've almost blown my cover. Way to go stupid."

"But, I thought you said that you were Fire Nation?" Katara asked confused. Suddenly, Kei had become a whole lot more interesting than Sokka's dirty socks.

"Well...I am... You see..." Kyla tried to think quickly. The cat was out of the bag but she didn't want to give too much away. "My dad is Fire Nation. My mom, Watertribe." Kyla said hoping that would sate Katara's curiosity.

"Hmmm...So that would mean..." Katara said placing her finger to her chin in a thinking pose.

"Oh no... Don't say it mom." Kyla thought to herself.

"I guess it's like..."

"No mom pleeeease don't say it..."

"I guess you're like a _**STEAM BABY**_!" Katara said grinning widely at Kei. Kyla on the other hand placed her hand over her face in a defeated manner. She hated it when her mom called her and her brother her "steam babies". Not because she found it particularly offensive or anything, just because she seemed to do it ALL THE TIME. It seemed like even in the past, her mother had a liking for that phrase.

"I guess..." Kyla replied.

"So how did they meet?" Katara asked staring widely at Kei. She loved romantic stories and could tell that she was in for one. Kyla on the other hand looked slight worried. What could she say? That her parents fell in love while helping the Avatar. Not likely. Instead she decided to keep it simple.

"Errr... They met during the war and fell in love." Kei replied not taking her eyes off the trousers she was rinsing.

"But how?" Katara asked, insisting that Kei continue her story. "Did he write poetry? Did he..."

"WATER SNEAK ATTACK!" Sokka screamed loudly soaking Katara and Kyla. "Wow Katara, you must have been having some conversation, my sneak attacks don't usually work. What are you guys talking about?" He continued, swimming over to them.

"Kei here is a waterbender. She was just going to tell me how her parents met." Katara replied waterbending off her and Kyla's soaked clothes.

"Really..." Sokka said suspiciously. A thought seems to enter his mind quickly but just as soon as it came, he shrugged it off. "So how are the clothes going?"

"Well it would go a lot faster if someone decided to help." Katara replied sarcastically.

"That's a real shame. Well... I'm off to defend my title. I just beat Toph at holding your breath underwater. She's been practicing with Aang saying that she'll beat me during the rematch. Enjoy the clothes washing!" Sokka said waving goodbye before splashing them again.

"Ugh. Why would he ask if he wasn't going to help?" Katara said frustratedly. Kyla shrugged.

"I guess, it just all older brother's jobs to annoy their sisters."

"I guess..." Katara eyes wondered across the river to where Zuko was sat. "Look, he doesn't even try to be a part of the group." Kyla was confused at first about who Katara was talking about until she saw where her eyes were focussed.

"He's probably scared to." Kyla replied sympathetically.

"Scared. Why would he be scared?"

"Well, I've only been here just over a day and I can see that you haven't been giving him the easiest time. Besides, He probably thinks that if he gets too close you'll probably shout at him again." Kyla said shrugging.

"That's just silly." Katara replied "He the one with problem not me."

"That might be true, but the way I see it. Zuko doesn't really like me; he distrusts me and so pushes me away."

"What? Why do you think that?"

"He told me. Anyway, even though he doesn't trust me, I still tried to talk to him on Appa, as you saw, but he still kind of ignored me. It becomes hurtful after a while when you try to build a bridge between yourself and someone else and then constantly break it down." Katara placed her hand on Kyla's shoulder sympathetically.

"I'll have a talk with him...It's..."

"No!" Kyla shouted. "Please, don't. Zuko will warm to me in his own time..."

"But it's not fair. Yes we don't know that much about you but you done nothing but good since you've joined us. You've even been helping out so I don't know why he can't give you a chance."

"Exactly..." Kyla said staring deep in Katara eyes hoping she would understand. There was no way she was going to get her parents to like each other if they couldn't even be civil to each other first. Katara opened her mouth as if to say something but then closed it abruptly. She had been caught out by her own logic and didn't know what to say. Zuko had done nothing but good since he was here, he was even washing The Duke's shorts at this very moment, something she thought she would never see him do, but she still felt as if something was there, something unresolved.

"I understand what you're saying Kei, I really do, it's just with Zuko, there's a history there that isn't too easy to just forget like that. I will try though, for your sake. Hopefully he'll pick up on that and treat you a bit better." Katara said playfully nudging Kei.

"Thanks." Kyla replied. As the day went on the two continued to wash clothes while talking about nothing particularly important. Eventually, they finished and began to reload Appa's saddle before jumping into the river themselves. Seeing as Sokka and Katara now knew about her waterbending, Kyla saw no reason to continue hiding it and so with Katara, got sweet revenge on Sokka for soaking them earlier. An hour or so into the "Everyone against the waterbenders" game, Zuko came around and said that they should leave before it got any darker. As they each got out and Katara or Kyla dried them off with waterbending, something Sokka said he would "never get use too" Zuko packed his load of clothes onto Appa. Soon afterwards, the rest of the gang got on and quickly made their way home all of them tired from their fun activities during the day.

o0o0o

By the time they reached the Air Temple, it was early evening and the sky had turned a light purple colour. Sokka, Toph and Aang helped to unload the bags while Katara, Zuko and Kyla made their way to the kitchen area. Thankfully, Haru had cooked and left for them so at least that was one thing Katara didn't have to worry about. Kyla looked between Zuko and Katara as they walked to the kitchen. It was odd how different they were now to how she knew them. She knew that they didn't start off as friends but to actually see it before her was surreal. Katara coughed nervously bringing Kyla back to the present. She could tell that Katara wanted to tell Zuko something but just needed a little push.

"I'm going to check if the guys need any help with the clothes." Kyla said leaving the two alone, hoping that something, anything would happen to push their relationship in the right direction. Katara glared at Kei knowing full well what she was up too. But it was wasted on her; Kei simply smiled back and left the two of them alone. Katara sighed in defeat. As they got to the kitchen, Katara served out two bowls of what she assumed was soup (Haru was not the best of cooks) and passed the large spoon to Zuko. She did say she would try.

"Zuko." She said so quietly that if they hadn't been beside each other he might not have heard it. Zuko stopped and turn to look at Katara, wondering what she was going to shout at him for now. "I just..." Katara continued facing downwards, unable to look him in the eye. "I just wanted to say thank you, for helping with the clothes today. It would have taken a lot longer if it was just Kei and I doing it." Zuko was dumbstruck. Out of all the things he expected Katara to say this was the least likely.

"Errr...You're welcome." He replied, unsure of what else to say. Katara smiled slightly and left with the two bowls to find Kei. Kyla was helping the rest of the group distribute the clean clothes to those that stayed behind when Katara came over handing her a bowl. She noted that Katara looked a bit happier than how she left her.

"Great. Something good must have happened. " She thought to herself.

"Hey! Where's our bowls!" Sokka moaned.

"That's for not helping with the clothes. You can serve yourselves." Katara replied snootly. Kyla tried her hardest to keep a straight face at Sokka's plight but couldn't help but giggle slightly. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that Zuko had started a fire and sat beside it. He seemed to be reluctantly eating his food which made Kyla worry about the contents of her own bowl. Leaving Katara and the rest of the group to playfully argue about how 'carrying the clothes of Appa was helping', Kyla made her way to sit next to Zuko.

As she approached and sat down, she could see Zuko almost instantaneously tense up. Kyla sighed quietly. She had made progress with her mom, now it was time to try and do the same with her hard headed dad.

"How's the food?" She asked trying to break the ice.

"Bad." Zuko replied flatly.

"Look Zuko, I know you don't trust me, but I am trying my best and I honestly don't mean you or anyone else in the group any harm. I'm not a bad guy." Kyla said curiously playing with her food. It did look awful.

"You're hiding something." Zuko replied turning to face her. It was then that he realised that this was the first time he had actually looked at her. She did look Fire Nation but there was something off about her. She also reminded him of someone but he couldn't quite work out who.

"We all have secrets." Kyla said staring at him point blank. Zuko looked at her slightly defeated but not enough to give it away. She was right. Everyone had their secrets, even he had a few that he would rather keep to himself.

"Look, I'm not saying that we should become best friends or anything like that, but can we at least try to be civil around each other?" Kyla asked hopefully. Zuko looked to his food. If Katara was being nicer to him, then perhaps he could give this girl a chance. Slowly, he nodded. "Great." Kyla said smiling before taking in her first mouthful of the soup. To her surprise, it wasn't too bad.

"So, how's the food?" Katara asked seating herself down beside Kyla, the rest of the group followed. Kyla was so caught up in her conversation with Zuko that she didn't even hear them coming.

"It's not too bad actually." She replied.

"That's what I've been saying but no one believes me!" Sokka whined.

"That's because you'll eat anything." Toph joked causing the rest of the group to start laughing.

"Well, it's going to be a nice night." Katara said looking at the clear sky. Stars had already started to show and a cooling breeze seemed to flow through even so often.

"Wooo! We can sleep outside!" Toph cheered. Kyla on the other hand squirmed in her seat.

"Have you never slept outside before?" Aang asked. Kyla shook her head. Even when travelling from the palace she had slept on a ship.

"Never been camping?" Sokka asked.

"Nope."

"Then this, if you are able to drown out Sokka snoring..."

"Hey!" Sokka whined.

"Shall be an experience for you." Katara added. Kyla simply smiled.

"Sleeping outside." She thought to herself. "What would her parents say..."

* * *

**FloraIrmaTylee: I'm so happy that you liked it! Yeah, I really tried my hardest to make Mi Yiun not sound pervy...I hope I succeeded. I'm also glad that you like Zuko's reaction to Kyla. To me, Zuko seems like the type of person that wouldn't be so trusting when it came to strangers...^_^ **

**stardustlife**: Thanks for reading, especially since it's not the type of story you are into. I'm glad you like it!

**BROWNeyes: Hopefully this update is soon enough for you! ^_^ I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter!**

**Boogum: Thanks! Hopefully you'll like this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! So sorry for the long delay, I just found it really hard to write this chapter. Dunno why? But I got over it so here it is! I hope you like it and please please please review. I read and love every single one of them and they make me so very happy! Well onto the chapter! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Morning had arrived just in time for Kyla who groaned unhappily while beginning to sit up. She had slept terribly during the night and had woken up feeling awful. Due to not having a sleeping bag, Kyla had to make do with two blankets, but the hardness of the Air Temple floor was something she was not accustom to and a feeling of soreness seemed to resonate within her arms and shoulders. As she looked around to see if the others were awake, she was surprised to find that even though there were belongings scattered around her, she was pretty much alone.

"I must have slept late." She thought to herself standing up and brushing the morning dust off her clothes. After folding her blankets, she quickly freshened up and went to find the rest of the group. In no time, she found them quietly chatting around a fire while having what she hoped was breakfast (she really didn't want to have slept till lunch). "Hey!" she said taking a seat next to Toph.

"Morning sleepy-head." Toph replied handing Kei and bowl filled with rice and vegetables. Kyla gratefully took it and started eating with gusto. For some reason she found herself increasingly hungry since she had been here. As she looked around the group she saw something that caught her eye.

"Why is Aang doing Fire Squats?" she asked.

"Oh, that's his homework from Zuko. He and Sokka have gone on a fishing trip to get more meat." Toph replied nonchalantly.

"What?" Kyla said worried. What if something happened to them? She thought. What if they get hurt and can't come back. She wouldn't be able to finish her task and so never be born.

"Hey don't worry about it. Sokka does this all the time. He gets a bit cranky when he doesn't eat meat for a while. I'm just surprised that he managed to tag Zuko along." Katara joked.

"Ok... " Kyla replied slightly nervously. Her brother says that she worries too much but in this case she couldn't help it. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Well, after Aang's finished his homework, he going's to train with Toph and Haru for a while then practice with me, you're welcome to join us if you like?" Offered Katara.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, not much going on today, Sokka was really the plan and time-table guy of our group." Toph said lying back while wiggling her toes. Kyla on the other hand finished her breakfast then made her way to the kitchen to wash up the bowl. "It would be nice to practice my waterbending." She thought to herself while mindlessly scrubbing.

Like predicted, the rest of the day went along reasonably uneventfully. Kyla thought how interesting it was how much the group dynamic had changed without Sokka and Zuko there. Eventually, after a long time of doing nothing, Kyla heard Katara calling, telling her that the waterbending practice was going to begin.

"So, where are we going to do it?" Kyla asked walking over to where Katara and Aang were standing. She couldn't see any other members of the group around. They had probably left to give them some space.

"Right here. " Katara said grinning. Aang and Kyla looked at Katara dumfounded. There wasn't much water where they were so how would this practice take place."I doubt that when Aang faces the Firelord, he'll be near a river or large source of water, so this session will deal with making the most out of little amounts of water, mainly, what you can carry."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Aang replied nervously. It was then that Katara and Aang began to run through various waterbending forms while Kyla simply watched. Sometimes she took part and even sparred a little with Aang while Katara instructed the both of them but mostly she sat and observed as much as she could.

"Good. Good Aang. But hold your arms out like this." Katara said coming behind Aang fixing his arm position. Aang stiffened and blushed at the sudden contact. Kyla on the other hand watched intently at the scene in front of her. It seemed as though Aang had a crush on Katara and now that she thought about it, it didn't surprise her. In the small amount of time that she had been there, she realised that Aang had always seemed eager when it came to Katara. From sleeping arrangements to collecting firewood, Aang always appeared to perk up whenever he was paired off with Katara.

"How could I have been so blind?" Kyla thought to herself, internally berating herself. This would make her job a lot harder. She thought back to her own time in the future. The Aang she knew, her Uncle Aang was a great guy, always friendly and even got her and her brother out of trouble on more than one occasion. He always got on well with both her parents and from what she could tell, bore no ill will towards either of them.

"Kei, do you want to try?" Katara asked pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Err. No thanks. Errm I think I'm going to lie down, I'm feeling a bit tired." Kyla replied.

"Oh. Ok. Well, see you later then." Katara said waving. Kei seemed a bit off.

"Bye. Good luck with you lesson Aang." Kyla replied leaving the two to continue. She on the other hand had to think things through. How was she going to get her parents together without hurting Aang's feelings? When she got to her and Katara's room she flopped down onto her bed and sighed loudly. With her dad gone and this new predicament of Aang's crush, things were not going too well for her.

"Ok, I need a plan, a real plan not just some vague idea. But how can I do anything when Dad's not here!" She thought to herself frustratedly. "If he were here, I'd try and get them alone so that maybe they could talk more or something but nooooo, Uncle Sokka just had to drag Dad along for some silly meat trip. Ugh!" After mentally scowling her Uncle for making things 10 times harder, Kyla began to brood while trying her hardest to come up with a plan or something productive to do. She came up with all sorts of ideas, but each one either fell flat or seemed to involve a lot of "if's". Before she knew it, the sun had begun to set and the moon was slowly rising from behind the clouds bathing the room in an almost ethereal light.

"Kei. Are you alright? You missed dinner?" Katara asked sitting on the bed opposite Kyla's. Kyla sat up and smiled. It was so like her mother to worry.

"I'm fine thanks Katara. Just thinking about stuff."

"My brother does that. Just goes off to think. Sometimes he comes back and asks me the silliest questions, like 'Which do I think swims fastest a polar bear dog or a penguin?' " Kyla raised her eyebrow and chuckled in confusion. "Yeah, he's weird." Katara sighed. "I hope he's ok though."

"I'm sure he's fine. He's Water Tribe, we're made of strong stuff!" Kyla said trying to cheer Katara up.

"Haha! That's what my dad and Sokka say all the time!"

"Oh snap." Kyla thought to herself. That's where she had heard it from she remembered. Suddenly a though came into her head. "Perhaps talking to Mom about what kind of guy she likes might help get things started." She thought to herself. Yes it would be really embarrassing and totally cringe worthy, but for the greater good. Right?

"So Katara..." Kyla started shakily. "Who is the lucky guy then?" She said pointing to her betrothal necklace. "Yes." She thought to herself. "This would be a good way to break the ice."

"Huh? Oh this." Katara said taking off her necklace and handing it to Kei. "It's not mine. Well it is, but not like that. It was my mother's, before she died."

"It's beautiful." Kyla replied stroking at the carved stone before handing it back. "So, do you have a boyfriend?" Kyla asked trying her hardest to keep it casual. If Katara noticed her discomforted she did not say anything, instead she blushed a deep red and became incredibly flustered.

"No! No. I don't." Katara replied quickly waving her hands to emphasise her point. Kyla chucked at her reaction. Well at least she wasn't the only one feeling embarrassed.

"Well, why not?" Kyla asked.

"Errmmm well, I just haven't had the time. We are in a war here!"

"Oh I see. Well, do you like anyone?" Kyla continued. This was easier than she thought it would be.

"No. No. No! I... I... Well..."

"Well..." Kyla urged on. It looked as though she was getting somewhere.

"Well... I haven't seen anyone that is my type... Yeah... That's it, so no. No. I don't like anyone. Why are you asking this?" Katara asked suspiciously.

"It's just err... Girl Talk. Yeah...Girl Talk."

"Girl Talk?" Katara said raising an eyebrow.

"Yep. Girl Talk." Kyla replied grinning widely. "So... What kind of guy do you like?" Kyla said crossing her legs and resting her head on her hands. Katara on the other hand rolled her eyes. Ok, she would play along.

"Well..." Katara started. "He has to be tall, and handsome. But also kind and caring." Kyle squeed excitedly, that was her dad in a nutshell, but then Aang could be described like that too.

"Go on." She encouraged

"Well, I don't know really. I've never really thought about it before. I guess I'd like him to be honourable and have nice hair." She added a matter of factly. "Though not longer than mine, and nice eyes and a good sense of humour."

"He sounds lovely. Like a real prince." She added, hoping that she wasn't being too obvious. Katara on the other hand just giggled innocently. She hadn't spoken to anyone like this since she saw the fortune-teller. It was nice.

"How about you?" Katara asked.

"What?" Kyla replied dumbfounded. She should have expected this, but for some reason, she didn't and now she was being put on the spot.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Errr...Well...I guess... I mean." Kyla stuttered. This was her mom she was talking to. What could she say?

"You DO have a boyfriend Kei!" Katara practically screamed. "Ooo what is like? What does he look like? Is he Water Tribe? Does he have nice hair?"

"Wait wait wait... I don't have a boyfriend. It's just..." Kyla sighed. She might as well tell the truth. It's not as if Katara knew who she would be talking about. "Well, there is this guy who I like. He's my parents' friend's son. He comes over to our house whenever his parents are in town. He's a bit older than me but he is so handsome and sweet and polite and..." Kyla stopped herself. She didn't mean to reveal so much. This girl talk was a powerful thing.

"I'm sure he likes you too."

"What?" Kyla screeched. "How do you know?"

"Well, he's polite to you isn't he. That must mean he feels something for you." Katara added as a matter of fact. Kyla on the other hand just laughed.

"That makes no sense. So if a guy is polite to me that means he like me?"

"Well no...But..."

"Exactly Katara. Though... I wouldn't mind if he did." Kyla added quietly.

"Awwww. That's so sweet. So how many babies are you going to have?" Katara teased.

"Babies! What? How many babies are you going to have with your Prince guy?" Kyla said turning the tables on her.

"Prince. I said nothing about a ..."

"That's what I'm going to call him for you. Katara's prince." Kyla said giggling. This was one of the weirdest conversations she had ever had.

"But I..."

"So how many babies are you going to have Katara?"

"..."

"Oh Katara are you giving me the silent treatment. I'll keep bugging you until you answer."

"..."

"Kataraaaa."

"Ugh! Alright! Three!" Katara said finally giving in. Kei was just as bad as Sokka.

"Two, I thought so. Two is a good num...Wait 3?" Kyla asked confused. Back in her time, there was only her and her brother Kenai. Did this mean that she should expect another sibling? "Three, why three?"

"I don't know... It's the first number that came into my head. That's what happens when you pester people." Katara replied.

"Well, I think that you shall have beautiful babies with your Prince with lovely eyes." Kyla replied grinning widely oh if only her mother knew, she thought to herself. Katara looked at her sternly before she herself burst out laughing. The two of them laughed loudly at their own silliness and continued to talk about silliness before falling asleep with smiles on their faces.

o0o0o

3 days had passed since Sokka and Zuko had gone on their fishing trip and everyone including Kyla was beginning to get more than a little bit worried. Haru had suggested that they send out a search party for the pair, but was reminded of the fact that no one knew where exactly they had gone. Even Aang had gone to the river with Appa to check if they had run into some trouble there, but they were nowhere to be seen.

"Something's not right." Katara said to Toph, Kyla and Aang. "They should be back by now."

"Don't worry Katara. Sokka probably just stuck in tree and Zuko is making sure he learnt his lesson before helping him out." Toph joked.

"You're not helping Toph. They could be in real danger."

"They're fine. I'll bet you a week's worth of chores that they come back safe and sound." Toph suggested cheekily.

"No way! Remember the last time you got the betting itch. Besides, you don't do your chores anyway." Katara replied smirking, her mood slightly better than before.

"Hey." Aang said getting to his feet quickly. "What's that sound?"

"I hear it too." Kyla said standing up. "It sounds like purring?"

"No. I don't think it's an animal." Aang added.

"It sounds like an Air Balloon." Toph said.

"Look!" Kyla said pointing to the sky. In the distance, a black spot seemed to get larger and larger until it shape could be clear made out.

"That's not Zuko's war balloon. It's too big." Katara said worriedly.

"Are we under attack?" Toph asked getting in a fighting stance.

"I don't think so." Aang said peering at the War Balloon. As time went on, it came closer and closer until it hovered just in front of the group. It was too late to run now. If Aang was wrong and those inside the War Balloon wanted to fight they would have to now. Slowly the door opened and everyone held their breath. Slowly and much to everyone's surprise, Sokka walked out in odd looking clothes followed by Zuko in even odder looking clothes. Sokka and Toph began to talk, but Kyla attention was focussed elsewhere. This scene seemed incredibly familiar and she was sure she could see more movement coming from with the War Balloon. All of a sudden, three other figures walked out of the balloon, and Katara shouted,

"Dad!"

"That's it!" Kyla thought to herself. "The Boiling Rock! I knew this felt familiar. I don't know why I didn't work it out earlier. Uncle Sokka told this story hundreds of times"

As Katara reunited with her dad and every welcomed the new members of the group, Kyla stopped to look at her grandfather. It was odd and in a weird way slightly confusing that he looked so much like how she knew her Uncle Sokka. "I'm going to have to make sure not to call him Uncle Sokka or Grandpa while he's here." Just as she had finished going over her thoughts, Zuko came and stood beside Kyla not saying anything, but smiling at the scene.

"It's nice that Katara and Sokka's dad is back." Kyla said keeping her eyes focused on the scene in front of her.

"It is." Zuko replied smiling. After a moment of silence between the two of them, Katara came up to them and stood in front of Zuko. It was obvious that she was extremely happy at the moment, not only because of the wide smile that seemed to be stuck on her face but a she appeared to be lighter and more carefree, as is a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"I don't know what you and my brother did Zuko, but thank you. Thank for helping to bring my dad back to me and keeping my brother safe." Katara said placing a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "I.. I... Well... Thank you." Kyla looked between the two of them watching. It was as if some unspoken message was passing between them before Zuko simply nodded and smiled back in return. Katara then removed her had from Zuko's shoulder and grabbed Kyla's arm.

"Come on Kei, I'll introduce you to my dad." Katara said happily pulling Kyla along. For the rest of the evening introductions were made and everyone seemed to take joy in the fact that some of their companions were safe again. Sokka retold the story of how they had infiltrated The Boiling Rock emphasising his own bit of flare, a tendency he seemed to have maintained in the future Kyla thought to herself and eventually everyone fell asleep outside.

Morning arrived with the sound of thundering canons causing everyone to wake up abruptly. Azula had arrived with a number of War Balloons and was attacking the Air temple with brute force.

"We're going to have to split up!" Aang shouted above all the noise. "Appa hates tunnels and can't carry all of us." While the group split into two, Zuko had gone off to battle Azula and try and buy them more time. Soon enough, Aang and half of the group had gathered on Appa and were on their way to leaving. They were outnumbered and not in a position to fight so fleeing was the only option.

"Oh no!" Kyla said pointing to one War Balloon in particular. "Zuko... Zuko! He's falling we have to catch him! Turn Appa around!" she screamed frantically. It took all her will power not to call out Dad. Aang quickly pulled at the reigns to turn Appa around. "Katara he's going to be falling on your side, you have to reach out and grab him."

"Right."

It was a second later that the falling Zuko grabbed onto Katara's hand and fell into Appa saddle breathing heavily.

"Are you all right Zuko?" Katara asked. Unable to talk, Zuko nodded shakily. The group flew as quickly as possible from the crumbling temple.

"Where do we go now?" Toph asked. The defeated members of the group looked at each other sadly. Even Momo didn't seem his usual cheerful self. No one could answer.

* * *

**Zutarafan4ev: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked it! Hope you like this chapter too!**

**Annie1233: Me too! We'll be seeing more of that next chapter I assure you!**

**Boogum: Thanks! Kyla's getting there, slowly but surely!**

**Kisho101: Glad you're enjoying it! Hope you liked what happened next.**

**Maddy the fangirl: Liked it so much you said it twice! I'm joking. Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like the idea and steam babies!**

**OhTheOdds: Thanks! Me too! **

**Guest: Thank you for your review. I am so happy that you like my story, I'm trying my hardest to keep everyone in character and not make Kyla too awkward in the whole thing, so for you to say that she fits in well really make me smile. At least I'm doing something right. As for Zuko and Katara arguing, yeah, I see them doing a lot of that at the beginning...But then it gets better...Hence Kyla *wink wink***

**loveurstories: Ok ok! Here ya go! Hope you like it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone. First and foremost, I want to apologise for this update taking so very long. I have had a few major problems in my real life which prevented me from writing. However, every time I got one of your reviews, it encouraged me to write a little no matter how bad things were and eventually, I managed to finish this chapter. It is for this reason that I want to say a huge thank you to each and every single person that reviewed this story. I know you may have heard it all before, but they really do push me to write faster especially when I'm going through times that would have me do otherwise.**

**Anyway, enough of my doom and gloom, thank you all for reading, reviewing or faving and I hope you like this chapter.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

It had been two days since the assault at the Air Temple. The group, though despondent from the sudden attack, had managed to find a small enclosed area just beyond the river to make camp and collect their troubling thoughts. The campfire blazed brightly causing odd shadows to flicker eerily over their faces. The silence between them seemed to linger in a way that only emphasised their inner turmoil. For the past two days the group had focused their attention on obtaining supplies to refill their depleted stocks. Due to having to leave the temple so quickly, they had only managed to bring very little along with them in terms of food and with so many mouths to feed, it was an essential job that needed to be done. Toph had remarked that if Sokka had actually _gone_ on a fishing trip, things would probably not be as bad which earned her a glare from Sokka which she happily ignored and brushed off. Katara on the other had had been unusually quiet since the assault. She barely spoke, even to Aang and seemed as though she was caught up in thoughts that had appeared to consume her. She acted more abruptly when it came to Zuko and wished to be alone more often than she use to.

"I hope they're alright..." Katara said staring into the fire, her eyes blank and seemingly devoid of any emotion. Kyla looked at Katara empathetically. She knew why Katara was acting this way; she had always known which was why she didn't push her when Katara had asked for some space. For Katara to have just got back her father only to lose him again must have been difficult and if this was her way of coping, Kyla would let her.

"They will be." Aang replied placing a hand over Katara's. He was so relieved that she was talking again without being prompted, he hated seeing her upset. "Camping, it feels just like old times." He continued trying to lighten the mood.

"If you want it to really feel like old times, I could chase you around whilst trying to capture you..." Zuko joked. Reading people's moods was not one of his strong points.

"Ha. Ha." Katara replied flatly before rising abruptly to leave.

"I know things have been rough the past few days but what's wrong with her?" Sokka asked curiously.

"I wish I knew." Zuko replied before getting up to follow her.

"What's wrong with him?!" Sokka asked now even more curious that Zuko had decided to follow her.

" I don't know." Aang replied. "I thought they were getting on over the past few days, but now Katara seems to be a bit different with everyone. Do you think we've done something wrong?"

"I don't think so Aang." Kyla replied, "I think that she just needs her space to think things through."

"Then Zuko's probably not helping by going after her." Toph added flatly

"Maybe we should go too." Aang suggested.

"Why? To get shouted at too?" Toph replied. "Kei is right, Katara needs her space and as her friends we should respect that."

"Toph's right, besides it's getting pretty late." Sokka said whilst yawning too enthusiastically.

"Errr yeah yeah..." Suki said realising Sokka's meaning. "We all should be getting some errrmm ... Sleep."

"Are you ok Suki?" Aang asked.

"Me? I fine Aang just fine... A bit tired that's all." Suki replied blushing nervously before getting up and making her way towards her tent.

"Yeah... I think we should all get some sleep." Sokka replied causing the group to slowly get up and go their separate ways. Kyla on the other hand was still troubled by the lack of either Zuko or Katara's return, not to mention she wasn't particularly keen on having to sleep outside again and so decided to go and search for them.

She heard them before she saw them, and even though she couldn't make out exactly what they were saying she could tell from their body language that their "discussion" was not going too well. Katara seemed to be the more volatile of the two whilst Zuko seemed on the defensive. Kyla sighed in defeat. She thought she was making progress with the two of them, but seeing them argue again dashed her hopes of any kind and she began to doubt. "Maybe they would be better off separate." She thought. "No! Mom loves Dad, Dad loves Mom, I'm proof of that...Ew... But they have to get together. They're made for each other." Before she had any more time to contemplate the state of her parent's relationship, she saw that Katara was angrily walking away from Zuko towards her direction. The last thing she wanted was to be caught eavesdropping so she quickly made her way toward their shared tent not before noticing Sokka carrying what appeared to be roses back to his. A few minutes after Kyla had prepared her two blankets Katara entered the tent looking slightly irked.

"Are you alright?" Kyla asked as Katara a bit too forcefully got into her sleeping bag.

"I'm fine." She replied flatly.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No. Look, I'm pretty tired so I'm just going to sleep."

"Oh..Ok. Well, goodnight." And with that Katara and Kyla spent the rest of the night in silence.

o0o0o

The next morning Kyla woke up to an empty tent. As she got out and searched her surrounding she noticed that everyone seemed particularly glum this morning and there was no sign of Zuko or Katara. "Hey Toph." She said pulling her over. "What going on, why is everyone so down?"

"Zuko and Katara are getting ready to search for Katara's mother's killer. Aang and Sokka said she shouldn't but Katara's going anyway. They should be leaving soon." Toph replied pointing in the direction that Appa was resting. Kyla thanked Toph and then ran as quickly as she could, hoping that she made it before they left. She had already been consumed with worry when Zuko had gone away with Sokka, she didn't know how she was going to manage if both her parents were gone. She reached Appa just as Katara was loading the last bundle on.

"Good I made it." Kyla said slightly out of breath.

"Are you going to try and talk me out of it too?" Katara said keeping her eyes focused on the bags she was loading.

"No, it's not my place to. I just wanted to say, be careful."

"Oh," Katara said turning to face Kyla. She appreciated the fact that Kei didn't assume to know her better than she knew herself and smiled at her new found friend. "Thank you Kei, and I'm sorry if I've been a bit harsh lately, especially to you... I..."

"It's Ok Katara, I understand." Seconds later Zuko came and stood by Katara side.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Katara nodded silently, determination ever present on her face. "Alright."He replied nodding, his hands forming a step to help Katara onto Appa.

"Zuko wait." Kyla said before Zuko hoisted himself onto Appa. She walked up to him slowly before stopping and taking a deep breath. "Please... Look after Katara on this trip...She...Well, she's my friend and I don't want to see her get hurt." Zuko looked at her and nodded firmly before turning to get on Appa. "Wait!" Kyla continued. "Also, take care of yourself too." Zuko looked at Kei, surprised by her concern for him.

"Alright." he replied quietly. He had never seen Kei so worried and felt odd that some of her worry was directed at him. After their moment, Zuko quickly climbed into Appa's saddle and Katara began Appa's flight with a quick,

"Yip yip."

Kyla watched them until they could no longer be seen. Her parents had told her very little about the trip they had taken together during the war, and the little bits she knew, she had pick up from overhearing her Uncle Sokka or Aang talking.

"Are we too late? Have they gone?" Sokka said panting,. He had obviously ran from wherever he had been when he heard Appa take off.

"Yeah." Kyla replied sadly.

"Oh..." Aang said looking up to the sky. "I thought she might go, but I hoped she wouldn't."

"I hope she's ok." Sokka said looking towards the sky like the other.

"Me too." Kyla replied.

o0o0o

The morning after Zuko and Katara's departure was dreary and dull. The sky was grey and it was unusually cold compared to the last few days. Kyla looked out towards the distance, hoping that her parents were alright. She tried to look on the bright side of things and wondered if this trip alone together would bring them closer, or at least help them find some common ground that would stop them from arguing so much. Kyla chuckled at the thought. "They're going to be alright." She thought to herself. "They're my parents."

Aang had gone off to train with Toph, which left Sokka and Suki in camp with Kyla. Suki carrying twigs towards the fire at the centre of the camp, whilst Sokka seemed to be making a flowery necklace that he quickly hid whenever Suki would pass by him. Kyla smiled and shook her head lightly. If only her uncle knew that he didn't have to worry about things when it came to her Aunt Suki. As she walked up to him to say hello, her tummy rumbled. She was hungry, and with Katara gone, she doubted that anyone had made any breakfast not to mention that Zuko and Katara had taken a large chunk of their supplies with them for their trip.

"Morning Sokka." She said cheerfully.

"Hey Kei!" Sokka said rising to his feet. He had been sitting for longer than he realised so his legs were sore and his butt numb. "How'd you sleep?" he asked politely.

"Not well, I hate camping. Nice necklace by the way..." Kyla replied grinning.

"Necklace? What necklace? You...You're crazy?" Sokka fumbled.

"That's ok, I won't tell her." Kyla said resting her hand on his should causing Sokka to breathe a sigh of relief. "Anyway, I see there's no breakfast, and we're low on supplies, so I was think of going fishing, want to come?"

"Sure. I'm starving."

"Great! Let me put my hair up, I don't want it smelling of fish when we get back. Have you seen my ribbon anywhere?" Kei asked. Sokka looked down embarrassed.

"If it was the blue one that was just over there then..." Sokka took out the necklace he had been making and held it up to Kyla who laughed happily. "Hey! You know how hard it is to find this kind of stuff? Besides, I didn't know it was yours."

"Who did you think it belonged to?"

"I...I thought that perhaps the universe was cutting me a break seeing as it had been so hard on me lately. Sorry Kei."

"That's ok." She replied breaking off a twig from a nearby branch. Sokka watched her curiously. Soon after breaking off the little side twiglets from the branch, she twisted her hair using the stick into a neat bun and left the stick in place in order to keep her hair from falling out. Sokka eyes grew wide at the sight as if somehow many things had simultaneously clicked into place.

"Ahhhh! Ahhhhh! Ahhhhhhh!" He shouted pointing at Kyla. His thoughts so jumbled yet focused that he couldn't find it within himself to form coherent words. "You...You're..." Just as Sokka seemed to reach bursting point, Aang and Toph returned looking muddier than how they left, at the same time Suki returned carrying a small bundle of twigs. Kyla started to panic. It was clear that Sokka had worked out, or at least thought he'd worked out her secret and like it or not, this was not the place nor the time she had wanted it to be revealed.

"Errr Sokka can I talk you in private for a minute." She said pulling him away from the rest of the group who looked at the whole situation in confusion.

"What's up with them?" Aang asked puzzled by Sokka crazier than usual behaviour.

"Beats me." Toph said shrugging.

o0o0o

As soon as they were out of earshot, Kyla let go of Sokka's arm and turned to face him , a stern expression over her face.

"Ok Sokka, spill it. What do you think you know?" she said crossing her arms.

"You! You! You're from the future! You're Katara's kid! Only Katara knows how to do the hair twisty thing and you do it exactly like she does! You even look like her now that I think about it! This is so weird you're from the future? How did you get here? Why did you come? How..."

"Wait, wait wait..." Kyla said raising her hands trying to calm Sokka down. "Now I'm not saying you're right and I'm not saying you're wrong, but if I were from the future and was "Katara's daughter" What would you do about it?" Kyla asked.

"Errr...You want to know if I'll keep your secret. I promise you I will. Hey I'm your cool Uncle Sokka... Uncle Sokka, I like the sound of that." Sokka said grinning.

"Ugh..." Kyla said defeated. She had no choice now, and even if she denied it, Sokka probably wouldn't believe her. Besides, it would be good to finally have someone who knew the truth and at least he had promised to keep her secret. "Fine. You're right, I am from the future and I am Katara's daughter."

"I knew it!" Sokka shouted excitedly while jumping in the air. "That's why Katara got on so well with you so quickly. I had a strange feeling about you ever since laundry day! Wait, does Katara know?"

"No!" Kyla said placing her hands on both Sokka shoulders. "No one knows and you can't tell anyone. I don't want to mess up the future any more than I probably have already. Promise me you won't tell anyone."

"Not even Suki."

"No one! Please Uncle Sokka." Kyla pleaded, she knew how much her Uncle loved flattery.

"Well, when you put it like that, I'm sure I can keep your secret Kei." Sokka replied grinning.

"Thanks." Kyla said hugging Sokka tightly. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulder now that someone else knew her secret.

"So, why are you here Kei?"

"I think I'm here to get my parents together, or at least to like each other." Kyla said shrugging.

"Parents. You said your dad was Fire Nation, is that true?" Sokka asked suspiciously.

"Errr yes. He is. Probably the most Fire Nation you could get if you ask me..."

"Hmmm. Wait... It's not..."

"Yep." Kyla said grinning.

"But it can't be. They hate each other I mean they...Zuko? Zuko's your dad?"

"He sure is."

"That means... He's on a secret trip with my sister right now...I'LL KILL HIM!"

"Wait no no...Nothing happens...Ewww... I mean, my brother isn't born until at least 3 or 4years after the war ended, I was never good at history."

"Brother?!" Sokka said shocked at Kei's slip up. "There are more of you?!"

"Why are you focusing on the brother part rather than the part where I said the war ends...Anyway, yes I have an older brother but he isn't born in a way that you can be angry at dad so don't worry about it. And no he's not here too."

"Ok. Ok... Even though my big brother senses of going off the chart, Katara could do a lot worse than Zuko."

"Hey!"

"No offence."

"So, will you help me?" Kyla asked. "I've been trying my best but I don't think I doing that good of a job, and honestly... I want to go home."

"How do you get back? It won't be when your brother is...You know..." Sokka replied embarrassed. This was his sister they were talking about.

"What? No. No! Apparently I'll go when the time is right or something like that."

"Alright. You seem like a pretty cool niece, and I'm sure all the Sokka Juniors will be missing you."

"Sokka Juniors...Riiiiiight." Kyla thought to herself. Now would not be the time to tell her uncle that he would end up having 5 girls.

"So I'll help you."

"Thank you so much Uncle Sokka! It's good to finally be able to call you that! Oh...But if we are going to help my parents like each other, we have to be care of Aang." Kyla said excited that things were hopefully going to get better.

"Aang. Why do we have to worry about him?" Sokka asked confused.

"You're kidding right?" Kyla replied smirking. "You were able to work out that I'm the daughter of your sister that had somehow managed to travel back in time, but you can't see that Aang has the hugest crush on Katara?"

"Aang had a crush on Katara?! When did that happen?!"

"Nevermind... I'm so happy you know now. We should make plans for when they return."

"You sure nothing is going on on this trip?"

"I'm sure." Kyla said chuckling.

"Wait." Sokka said stopping Kyla in her tracks. "We're still going fishing right?"

"Right." Kyla replied. "Typical Uncle Sokka", she thought to herself.

* * *

**Zutarafan4ev: HAHA! Your review made me smile. I'm glad you liked that chapter and hopefully you liked this one too!**

**Annie1233: Awww thanks! I'm really happy that you like the story so far.**

**Crystal1998: Thanks, sorry for the long wait but hopefully this chapter was worth it!**

**Guest: Here ya go!**

**a123b: Kinda a bit of both. As you can see with this chapter, it follows the original storyline and time frame (I think) but focuses on different things i.e. my little twists.**

**Luna-of-Black-Roses: I love your review! Thank you. Here is more!**

**Jesjessiejessica: I know how it is when it comes to logging in. I feel ya! Glad you like my story!**

**DeathEater0731: Thank you. My writing style is odd, but I'm glad you like it. As for Mai, she won't be appearing in my story, however she is in my other one "The Way Things Are" if you want to check that out...Though it's unfinished at the moment *bad me!***

**Maddy the fangirl: Hi! Kyla is sneakly like that, she gets it from her uncle! Sorry for the long wait in between this update hopefully the next one willcome a bit sooner. As for Kyla's reations to Zuko and Katara's return, we'll just have to wait and see!**

**Guest: Here you go! **

**Boogum: Thanks, the girl talk part was one of my favourite bits to write.**

**Guest: Glad you picked up on that, the animals like me like sleeping and little noise...^_^**

**Aralys: Thanks! I'm glad you decided to read my story and enjoyed it! I hope you like this chapter too.**

**Guest: This stroy is a bit faster paced than usual but that's simply because it was never meant to be very long. If you like slower paced fics, you should try reading my other ongoing fic "The Way Things Are". That one is a lot slower... but unfinished. *bad me***

**Guest: Yes indeed. Here ya go!**

**Guest: Thank you! Sorry for the wait.**

**xBluesx: Hello from the UK! I'm glad you like my story and sorry about the wait for the update. Hopefully the next one will arrive quicker!**


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